Pune: Rajgad police have arrested a gutkha smuggler nearly 22 months after he stole a seized truck loaded with banned gutkha from outside a police outpost. The accused, Nizamuddin Mehboob Shaikh (40), was apprehended in connection with multiple cases of gutkha smuggling and financial irregularities.
The police have recovered two Aadhaar cards from him, and an investigation into bank transactions worth ₹8.54 crore is underway. Following his arrest, the court has remanded him to two days of police custody.
On May 28, 2023, the Rajgad police seized a truck carrying gutkha on the Pune-Satara highway, confiscating gutkha worth ₹41.13 lakh and the truck, totaling ₹51.13 lakh in assets.
The vehicle was parked outside the Khed Shivapur police outpost, but it was stolen at midnight. The truck was later found abandoned four kilometers away, but all the gutkha sacks had been stolen.
Subsequent investigations led police to a warehouse owned by Nikhil Nahar, where a large quantity of stolen gutkha was recovered. During questioning, Nahar revealed that the gutkha was supplied by Nizamuddin Shaikh.
After the case was registered, Shaikh went into hiding, but police had been tracking him. He was finally arrested on March 28, 2025. Shaikh already had multiple cases registered against him at Yerawada, Khadak, and Kalepadal police stations for gutkha smuggling and related offenses.
During the arrest, police found two Aadhaar cards under different names on Shaikh’s mobile phone. An examination of his bank records revealed that between April 1, 2023, and March 31, 2024, ₹8.54 crore had been deposited into his account.
Given the huge financial transactions, police requested an eight-day custody for further interrogation. However, the court granted only two days of police custody. Senior Police Inspector Rajesh Gawli of Rajgad Police Station stated that further investigations are underway to identify Shaikh’s accomplices and trace the source of his transactions.